CEO, at 92, still dialed in to work

Marjorie Becker knows the ropes better than anyone

Associated Press

Published 10:58 pm, Friday, December 26, 2014

Photo: Joe Mahoney

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In this Dec. 18, 2014 photo, Marjorie Becker, is flanked by her two grandsons, Jason, left, and Jim Becker, in Middleburgh, N.Y. At the age of 92, Becker still looks forward to going to work each day at her company, the Middleburgh Telephone Co. (AP Photo/Oneonta Daily Star, Joe Mahoney) ORG XMIT: NYONE501 less

In this Dec. 18, 2014 photo, Marjorie Becker, is flanked by her two grandsons, Jason, left, and Jim Becker, in Middleburgh, N.Y. At the age of 92, Becker still looks forward to going to work each day at her ... more

Photo: Joe Mahoney

CEO, at 92, still dialed in to work

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Middleburgh

Marjorie Becker is under no requirement to report to work each morning. She does it because she loves it.

"I need to know what's going on here," the great grandmother of 12, crisply dressed in a gray pants suit, said. "I've got to keep an eye on these guys."

"These guys" was a reference to two of her grandsons, brothers Jim and Jason Becker, who accompanied her as she was interviewed in the office of the 117-year-old Middleburgh Telephone Co. in Schoharie County.

Widowed in 2006, the matriarch of her family is now the CEO of the company, which recently partnered with the Otsego County Industrial Development Authority and Otsego Electric Cooperative to extend broadband service into Otsego County.

The previous year, her father had gone to work for the Middleburgh Telephone, founded in 1897 by a group of local businessmen. Scott Rose would ascend through the ranks to become the company's president.

As a 14-year-old high school student, Marjorie Becker took a part-time job at the company and learned the ropes of the telecommunications business from the inside. In those days, when an electric typewriter was cutting-edge technology, she can recall hand-writing bills and filling out accounting ledgers.

On the day before she was married in 1946 to Randy Becker, she was installing telephone cable. She graduated from Keuka College, earned her insurance license while working for Liberty Mutual Co. in Rochester, and returned to Middleburgh to settle down with her husband. He husband would become general manager of Middleburgh Telephone in 1953.

Asked for the secret behind her enthusiasm, she said, "Keeping active, and loving everything you do."